Integration

I am a Danish-American born and raised in the USA. I've always had a split identity, all the way down to my first name: My American passport says "Soren" and my Danish passport says "Søren".

I first moved to Denmark in 2010, with a very strong accent and very confused sense of self. I started going by "Scott" as a way to escape the confusion and simplify my identity for my classmates and dormmates. It fit much better with my strong American accent.

Since then my accent has reduced considerably thanks to my Danish friendships - not least the many beers that we've drank together over the years. But it's not always been easy.

If it's sometimes been challenging for me, a half-Dane, to integrate into Danish society, I can only sympathize with how hard it must be for fully non-Danish newcomers to build a life in Copenhagen. I think we need to make it easier.

I think that the municipality should get rid of the 5-year limit on Danish classes. Many people think they are only coming for a short while, or are going through a hard transition that makes it not the right time for classroom language lessons. But then, often, things change, and this is a fantastic win for Denmark! Every time someone who thought they were just coming for an education, a short-term job, or to wait out a crisis in their home country, but then decides to stay, and want to give the Danish language a fresh shot, Denmark is richer for it! These people need the chance to learn Danish.

We should also offer Module 6. The PD3 (international B2) level reached at the end of free Danish classes, which go up to Module 5, is not quite enough. Internationals who want to should be able to take it a level higher so that they can start to enjoy Danish literature or have an easier time following their colleague's jokes at Friday bar.

Many internationals in Copenhagen don't succeed in integration - they find it hard to make friends and find the dark winters emotionally repressive. I've been there in my early years here. Even though there are as many types of international Copenhagener as there are internationals in Copenhagen, the result is different depending on where you're coming from:

• Expats who don't integrate well go home. This is an economic and cultural loss to Copenhagen.
• Refugees who don't integrate well can't go home. They too often fall through society's cracks.

Though the background of the people involved and the consequences of failed integration are different, I'm sure that many of the roots of the problem are the same: it's hard to come from an extroverted warm society to Denmark, with its cold grey climate and communication that, when forthcoming, is often rooted in high-context irony. The saying that a Dane doesn't see the need for a new friend unless an old friend dies is an unfair generalization (there are also as many types of Danes as there are Danes), but it has some truth to it.

We (now I include myself with the Danes) need to be better! We need to speak patient Danish with our international colleagues and friends, even when it would be faster to switch to English, because otherwise they won't learn. We need to be curious of the stories of our neighbors, especially those who are most different from us, because otherwise we won't learn. It's a cultural change that would help the most. And you can't change culture from the top down. But I think that the municipality can do some things to nudge it in the right direction.

Language cafes at all of the city's Culture Houses, where Danish Copenhageners and International Copenhageners can mingle and learn each other's languages, would help. While living in Madrid, I went to a language cafe every Friday where we were seated with strangers at mixed Spanish+international tables and then told every 15 minutes to switch language back and forth between Spanish and English. This was awesome, both for my Spanish and for my network in Madrid.

A better on-boarding could also help.

• Internationals arriving in Denmark shouldn't just learn about the health and tax system - they should also learn about the union's important role in the Danish labor market and encouraged to join one right away, not just to protect their rights as employees but also as a way to network. My union, IDA (for engineers) not only offers career advice in English but also organizes many interesting events in English.
• Internationals arriving in Denmark also should learn about Danish democracy, and about their right to vote in local elections! So many Copenhageners don't know that they can vote this November 18 if either they come from an EU country, Norway, Iceland or the UK; OR if they have lived in Denmark for at least 4 years.

I was moved when my good friend from Venezuela told me that the first time that he voted in the local elections Denmark was the first time he really felt like a part this society. And it's true. Because being part of a democratic society doesn't just mean being welcome there. It also means you share responsibility. You have to help decide the direction our city goes.